Iraqis who have had their asylum requests rejected and have sought sanctuary in a Copenhagen church are not out of reach of the authorities, according to Integration Minister Birthe Rønn Hornbech (Lib), who also happens to be Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs and is a former Deputy Police Chief.

“The deportation of Iraqis here is a case like any other and the police knows precisely how to handle these types of cases,” Hornbech tells DR.

The Brorson Church Parish Council in Copenhagen decided yesterday to allow some 50 rejected Iraqi asylum-seekers sanctuary until August. But the minister says that although a church is a holy place, it is not a refuge in legal terms.

Hopes church evicts
The minister says that someone sought by the authorities cannot seek sanctuary in a church, and she says she hopes police will not have to clear a house of worship.

“I hope the Parish Council takes early action if it turns out that there are people there who have to be picked up. I can’t imagine that the Parish Council is interested in trouble – and that’s not my feeling at the moment,” says Hornbech.

Police hesitant
Police authorities are also unhappy at the prospect of sending officers in to clear a church.

“To put it mildly, we don’t like clearing churches. We adopt a wait-and-see view,” Assistant Commissioner Per Larsen tells Jyllands-Posten.

Denmark and Iraq finalised an agreement last week that will enable Denmark to forcibly repatriate Iraqis whose asylum requests have been refused..

The agreement has raised some debate as many of the Iraqis have been in Danish asylum centres for up to 11 years – with several children having spent all of their lives in the country.